Operating and locking device for railway switches and signals.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

B. LINDH. OPERATING AND LOOKING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1901.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 KODEL.

' No. 732,198. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

B. LINDHJ OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY 12. 1901.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEET8-BHBET 2.

.- I llllllll-Ililll No. 732,198. PATENTBD JUNE 30, 1903.

B. LINDH. OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS.

uruoumx mun JULY 12. 1901. 'no MODEL. 4 sunken 3.

No, 732.198. PATENTBD JUNE 30, 1903. B. LINDH. OPERATING AND LOOKING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS.

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'- I Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

' BIRGER LINDH, OF STOOKI-IOLM, SWEDEN.

OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS.

SPECIFIUATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 32,198, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed July 12, 1901. erial No. 68,084. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, BIRGER LINDH, a sub-.

vented new and useful Improvements in Opcrating and Locking Devices for Railway Switches and Signals, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to operating and locking devices for railway switches and signals, and especially to such operating and locking devices in which a number of handle-levers corresponding to the switches or signals of a railway-station are connected either mechanically, hydraulically, pneumatically, or electrically to the difierent switches or signals. 7

The object of this invention is to provide apparatus of the aforesaid class that will be simple, cheap, and reliable.

The invention consists, briefly, in providing by the side of the shaft supporting the said levers of a number of locking-disks corresponding to the number of said handle-levers, which disks are mechanically connected to each other in such a manner that they may be rotated or moved simultaneously,

each of the said locking-disks being provided with a number of notches, projections, or the like corresponding to the number of trainways in the railway-station and adapted by engaging with corresponding projections, notches, or the like provided in disks, segments, or the like fixed to or mechanically connected or integral with the said handlelevers to lock the latter in the one of their end positions or the other. The new locking device is so constructed that when the said locking-disks have been brought into engages ment with the handle-levers for the switchethe handle-levers for the signals after having been brought'in position for clear will engage their lockingdisks in such a manner that the disengagement of all the lockingdisks will be prevented until the handle-levers for the signals have been brought back into position for stop.

The invention further consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth.

.structional form of my invention.

switches or signals in the station.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like'reference-letters refer to the same or corresponding parts throughout, some suitable constructional forms are illustrated.

Figures 1 and 2 show an end view and a plan view of an operating and locking device constructed in'accordance with this invention. Figs. 3 and 4 show an end View and a plan view, on a larger scale, of a handle-lever for a switch and of a locking-disk engag-.

ing the same. Figs. 5 and 6 show in similar manner a handle-lever for a signal and the locking-disk engaging therewith. Figs. 7and 8 illustrate by end views a modified form of carrying out my locking device. Figs. 9 and 10 show in end view and plan a third con- Figs. 11 to 14 show on enlarged scale some details of the operating and locking device shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 6 a'shaft a is rigidly mounted on a frame A, located at a suitable place in the railway-station. On the said shaft or a number of disks b 0, segments, 'or the like are rotatably journaled, to each of which are fixed pulleys S V, each of the latter being connected in the usual manner by means of wire ropes or the like to one of the To the said disks 1) c are attached handle-levers 'T U, by means of which the said disks and pulleys may be turned into. two extreme positions corresponding to the difierent positions of each switch or signal. Parallel to the said shaft a is rotatably journaled a shaft (1, which at the same time is movable longitudinally. To the said rotatable shaft d a number of locking-disks e f, segments, or the like are attached, which correspond to the number of. disks and pulleys S V. The locking-disks f for the switch-pulleys V, which disks stand disengaged from the disks 0 when the switches are unlocked, as shown in Fig. 2, are provided with notches g of suitable form and of a number corresponding to the number of trainways in the station. Each of the said hand-lever disks b c are provided with two notches h h of diderent shape and arranged at a distance from each other corresponding to the distance between the two end positions of the handle-levers. The said notches h h are of such a shape that the one of them in each disk can engage with some of the notches of the locking-disks f and the other can engage with the other notches of the lockingdisks. On account of this arrangement the handle-disks must be turned in a certain position before the locking-disks, which are all rigidly fixed to the said shaft d,can be brought into engagement with the said handle-disks. Notches g of such a shape that the lockingdisk f can be brought into engagement with the corresponding handle-disk irrespective of how the latter is turned may, however, be provided in the disks f for the purpose of providing positions in which the shaft may bemoved longitudinally without locking the handle-levers. Notches of that shape are used for switches that need not be locked. When the handle-lever for a signal is placed in such position that the signal shows stop, Fig. 5, the corresponding locking-disk 6 will be engaged at its periphery bya corresponding notch of' the disk I) of the handle-lever, thus preventing the latter from being turned. The said lockingdisk 6 can, however, be either turned or moved longitudinally on the shaft 01 at will. In order that the signal-lever may be turned into position for clear when the switches of a certain trainway have been locked in their respective positionst'.e.,when the shaftdis movedlongitudinally to the left the locking-disks e for the signal-levers are each provided with a notch Z, Fig. 5, of such shape that when turned opposite the disk of the signal-lever (in locking the switch-levers U) the disk I) of the signal-1e ver may be turned in one direction, so that an edge m provided on said disk I) will engage with the said notch Z, preventing the shaft d from being moved longitudinally. The result of such engagements is that the switch-levers cannot be released from the locking-disks before the signal-levers have been turned in position for stop "1'. e., not before the notch 7c of the disk b has been turned opposite the lockingdisk e-when the shaft clean again be moved in its longitudinal direction, so as to disengage the locking-disksffrom the disks 0.

The device shown in Figs. 1 to 6 is adapted to be applied to a railway-station having four train ways. The notches in the different looking-disks ef correspondingto switches of one and the same trainway should preferably be placed in line with each other, so that the shaft 61 may be rotated and moved longitudinally in four different positions. The turning of the shaft d may be performed in any suitable way-for instance, by means of a gearing r s, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The gear-wheel r is fixed to the'said shaft (1 in such a manner that it will slide on the said shaft when the latter is moved longitudinally.

The Wheel 3 is loosely mounted on the shaft. a and adapted to be rotated by means of a lever p. The longitudinal movement of the shaft d may be performed by means of a lever g, which in the usual manner by means of pins engages an annular slot provided on the said shaft (1. The locking-disks c f may of course be made integral with the shaft d and be in the form of projections of the same, or they may be formed as sectors, segments, or the like fixed to the said shaft. Further, the disks 1) 0 may be dispensed with and the notches 70 h h be arranged in the flanges of the pulleys S V or in the naves of the handlelevers. I

In the modification shown in Figs. 7 and 8 the notches k h h are'arranged in reciprocating plates b 0, connected by means of links or the like to the switch and signal leyers.

In the locking device shown in Figs. 9 to 14 the locking-disks efare pivoted in planes at right angles to the planes of rotation of the pulleys and connected to each other by means of a rod 25 or any other suitable mechanism in such a manner that they will be rotated simultaneously, for instance, bymeans ofthe handle-leverp, indicating the different trainways.

The last-mentioned lockingdevice is especially adapted for stations where there are two principal trainways. On account thereof the locking-disks have only two locking positions. As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, the'loc'king-disks fare provided at their periphery with notches g embracinga projecting flange k of the pulley V, so that the latter may be turned in one direction or the other. On each side of the said notch g the locking-disk has a recess or the like u u, the one of which, to, is provided on the upper side of the lockingdisk and the other, at, on the underside of the said disk. In the said flange k of the pulley V are provided two notches h h, arranged at a distance from each other corresponding to the distancebetween the two ex-- treme positions of the lever of the said pulley. The said notches h h have each'a shape corresponding 'to one of the profiles formed by the recesses u u in the locking-disk f. It is easily understood that in orderto rotate the locking-disksf in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 14. the pulleys V must first be turned into such position that the notches It will be moved opposite the notches g in the locking disksf. If the latter are subsequently rotated in the direction of the arrow, it will lock the pulleys V, thus preventing the latter from being rotated until the locking-disks f have been brought back into their original position.

The signal-pulley S(shown in Figs. 11 and 12) is adapted to be applied for two signals and must consequently be arranged to be turned'into three different positionsnamely, an intermediate position for stop and two positions for clearone on each side of the stop position. In the stop position a notch 70, provided in the edge of the pulley S, engages the edge of the locking-disk e,

which on each side of this position has a notch Z Z The latter are of different shapes, each corresponding to the edge of the pulley S on each side of the notch 70. In the position shown in Fig. 12 the pulley S is locked. If the locking-disk e be brought in such a position that the notch Z will be moved opposite the edge of the pulley S, the latter may be rotated to the left, and thus bring the corresponding signal into position for clear. It is easily understood that in the locking device shown in Figs. 9 to H the signal-pulley S cannot be turned into position for clear before the switch-pulleys have been brought into the one end position or the other, so that the locking-disks connected to each other may be turned until the notch of the lockingdisk e is brought opposite the signal-disk. In this turning the switch-pulleys will, however, be locked, and when the signal-lever is thereupon brought into position for clear the locking-disk e is also locked, whereby the switch-pulleys are prevented from being released until the signal'pulley has been brought into its stop position.

The operating and locking device last described may also be so constructed that it will be applicable to three or more trainways, this being performed by two or more lockingdisks above one another on each of the pins of the locking-disks shown in Figs. 9 to 14 and by connecting all the locking-disks by a suitable mechanism by means of which the said disks may be raised or lowered simultaneously, so that the one set or the other of the locking-disks may be brought into engagement with the switch and signal pulleys.

It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the operating and locking device now described may be modified in many ways without deviating from the principle of my invention. Thus, for instance, the switch and signal levers in the operating and locking devices shown in Figs. 1 to 6 and 9 to l tneed not be pivoted on the same shaft as the switch and signal pulleys V S, but may be pivoted on another shaft, preferably provided parallel to the shaft of the said pulleys, if the latter are connected to the levers by means of links or the like. If electrically or pneumatically operated switches and signals are used,electric switches or pneumatic valves may be substituted for the said pulleys V S.

Having now described my invention, what I-claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with an operating and locking device for railway switches and signals having a set of switch and signal levers arranged side by side of each other, and a set of locking-disks adapted to engage with the said switch and signal lovers, of means for rotating all the said locking-disks simulta neously and means for displacing all the said locking-disks simultaneously, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an operating and locking device for railway switches and signals, the combination with the controlling-levers, of disks on said levers, notches on said disks, a shaft mounted on one side of said levers so as to be turned as well as moved longitudinally, and projections on said shaft adapted to be moved in and out of engagement with said notches, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. In operating and locking devices for railway switches and signals, the combination of a frame, a locking-shaft journaled in the said frame, means for shifting the said shaft longitudinally, means for rotating the said shaft, locking-disks on the said shaft, notches in the said locking-disks, con trollinghandles journaled on the said frame, and notches in the said handles adapted to engage with the said locking-disks, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In operating and locking devices for railway switches and signals, in combination, a frame, locking disks journaled on said frame, mechanical connections between said locking-disks, notches in said locking-disks, controlling-handles journaled on said frame, and notches in said controlling-handles adapted to engage with the said locking-disks,-substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BIRGER LINDH.

Witnesses:

GERDA RINDKVIST, GUSTAF TSFAU. 

